Mumbai: Residents of the upmarket Hiranandani Gardens housing complex in Powai are up in arms against the proposal to demolish an existing commercial complex, Citipark, in their area and build a massive building in its place. The protestors include prominent RSS member Ratan Sarda and noted environmentalist Debi Goenka, both local residents.
According to Sarda, three buildings on CTS plot no. 15A in Powai village were constructed around 2002 and house banks, supermarkets, offices, restaurants and shops. Now there is a proposal by real estate major Brookfields to demolish these structures and build a massive commercial complex by availing a floor space index (FSI) of 5. Emails sent to Brookfields remained unanswered.
In his complaint to civic chief IS Chahal, Sarda said Citipark is located in a residential zone and offices catering to the information technology (IT) were permitted. However, other offices and shops have come up there.
Sarda Speaks On Significance Of Citipark
Sarda said Citipark is located at one of the most congested intersections within the Hiranandani Gardens complex and there are regular traffic snarls here. One of the roads on this crossing has a large marketing area commonly called Eden market. All types of buses come all through the day from the commercial buildings on South Avenue. “Roads are already full with parked cars from this commercial area and other visitors. There is an acute problem of parking and BEST buses have a difficult time turning at this intersection,” he said.
Sarda said the builder planning to redevelop Citipark has applied for environmental clearance. The proposed building would use the new FSI norms for commercial buildings (5) and would have a tower that will have offices, shops, restaurants and a multiplex, which is not permitted as per the latest Development Control Regulations of 2034. Provision is apparently being made for parking of nearly 1,000 four-wheelers and the plan does not mention about parking of two-wheelers.
According to Goenka, the proposal to construct a new building has been made by Vrihis Properties Pvt Ltd (VPPL), which is a subsidiary of Brookfields Asset Management.
